Tales Of Destiny
by Chibi Shin-chan
Summary: Something's happening... and it doesn't seem good. What are all the pillars of light for? Who's the new kid(Eriol! ^-^)? And what is this "Cessation" Kero's always talking about? *Slight Sakura/Syaoran, Sakura/Tomoyo, Syaoran/Eriol*
1. Blood Red

Ok,   
Starlight, starbright,  
These characters, I don't own, right?  
But I wish I may,   
I wish I might,  
Borrow them for my fics tonight.  
~Shin-chan (NOBODY STEAL THIS! IT'S *MINE*!!!)  
  
^_^ Read and Review, people!!  
  
Feel free to criticize any wrong gramar and speeling. ^_^ eheheh...  
  
  
Tales of Destiny  
  
PROLOGUE- Blood Red  
  
Pillars of red light billowed out from the depths of nowhere. Darkness engulfed every corner untouched by the brightness, raising shadows from their sleep and creeping over the ruins of a perishing town. The overwhelming stench of blood filled the thick air. The streets were littered with the dead and the dying; littered with those who had nothing to offer the approaching night but the sounds of eternal silence.   
  
***  
  
Across the horizon, a figure stood upon a peak of mountain, studying his surroundings, yet still focused on the deteriorating village. A cape was spread behind him like pitch-black wings that matched the mysterious twinkle in his eye. His lips curved upwards in a small smile, and his right hand reached up to touch the symbol on the staff his left hand was clutching. Slender fingers slid down the stave until they stopped at its middle. Suddenly, the sign glowed a light shade of blue, and he snapped his elbow back, catching hold of his cloak's edge. His mouth moved, murmuring something inaudible. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the cloth had engulfed him; and in a flash, he was gone.   
  
There was no trace of his presence ever being there, except for the lingering words that still hung in the atmosphere, "It has begun…" 


	2. Drops of Blue Tears

Ok,   
Starlight, starbright,  
These characters, I don't own, right?  
But I wish I may,   
I wish I might,  
Borrow them for my fics tonight.  
~Shin-chan (NOBODY STEAL THIS! IT'S *MINE*!!!)  
  
^_^ Read and Review, people!!  
  
Feel free to criticize any wrong gramar and speeling. ^_^ eheheh...  
  
  
CHAPTER 1- Drops of Blue Tears  
  
Sakura fairly jumped up from her bed, beads of sweat trickling down her chin; she saw a flash of blinding red light… and she heard a voice in her sleep… in her dreams… around her… In her room? It was light… almost sweet… yet there was a hint of malice that was barely noticeable…  
  
"Peace is but a shadow...  
A shadow of darkness...  
A shadow of death...  
Though we try hard to achieve it...  
It remains merely a dream...  
Unrealized...   
Never meant to be..."  
  
She swept her eyes across the room, to make sure that nobody was around.   
  
Then, her gaze fell upon a shadow cast outside her window, but before she could blink, it had vanished.  
  
***  
  
Syaoran stared wearily across the room at the blackboard. Today, he was first to arrive at school and he hated it. He had woken up early, had no one to talk to, and was currently bored stiff.   
  
All of a sudden he heard footsteps… getting louder and louder. The first thought that hit him was that he finally had somebody to talk to… He turned his head to greet whoever had come in, but, to his surprise, nobody was there.   
  
It was only then that he noticed a silhouette on the floor before him, however, the moment his eyes set on it, it wasn't there....   
  
Shuddering, he looked out the window, squinting so as to see what was outside. The rain that was pelting the glass pane was getting stronger and stronger… Like hurried footsteps…. Getting louder and louder… Yes… that was it… he didn't hear footsteps… it was just the rain…  
  
But somehow, he had a hard time convincing himself of that…  
  
***  
  
"Good morning class!" Mr. Terada greeted his students, SKIPPING and PRANCING into the room with a HAPPY, IDIOTIC GRIN on his face.   
  
^-^;;;; (I just *had* to do that…)  
  
"We have a new student", he continued, "His name is Eriol Hiiragizawa and   
  
(with a name like that I don't know how or why)  
  
he's from England." He turned to the boy beside him,   
  
(the one with the black hair and glasses… Yeah! That's him!)  
  
He pointed at one of the students, "Now, Eriol, you can sit there in the empty seat beside Syaoran" The boy nodded and walked over to sit down in the assigned place.  
  
***  
  
Syaoran watched with wary eyes as the new student settled himself and started unpacking his school supplies.   
  
Eriol looked up, noticing that he was being watched, and smiled, "You're Syaoran"; he hesitated, as if searching his brain for the right answer to a test, "…Li, ne?" Syaoran nodded parting his lips to speak, "Hai."   
  
Then silence.  
  
It was maintained throughout all the classes.  
  
***  
  
Syaoran didn't say too much, because for some reason, he didn't know what, he had a strange feeling about the dark-haired boy. There was something… odd… unknown… unfamiliar in him… but then… everyone seemed to like him. He was smart, sweet, courteous… almost everything that everybody wanted to be… Yet, to Syaoran the other boy had a certain air hovering around him… mystique? Or was it the presence of evil…?   
  
No. It was nothing. It couldn't possibly be… he was just hallucinating… just like the footsteps he heard… Raindrops that he heard… nevertheless he was uncomfortable with Eriol. It's probably just one of those hard-time-accepting-the-new-student-who-is-smarter-than-you situations. Yeah, that was it. Plain and simple.  
  
At least that's what he hoped…  
  
***  
  
Eriol walked out of his classroom, brows furrowed in concentration, trying to read a book amidst all the chattering in the hallway. Occasionally he caught little bits of phrases from his new classmates.  
  
"Oh! Hiiragizawa-kun is sooooo CUTE!!"  
  
"Yeah! And he's smart, too!"  
  
"Don't forget that he's really nice! He helped me with the lesson I couldn't understand!"  
  
"There he is!!!"  
  
"AAAIIIEEEE!! HE'S SO ADORABLE!!!"  
  
And other comments carelessly thrown about by people from different levels and sections.  
  
The black-haired boy paid a diminutive amount of attention to what the others around him were saying, until…  
  
"Sakura-chan, what do you think of the new student?"  
  
"He's sweet. Remember how he gave all the girls in the class flowers?"  
  
"Hai, you're right."  
  
"And you, Tomoyo-chan, what do YOU think of him?"  
  
"He's OK. But Syaoran doesn't seem to like him to much…"  
  
"He's probably just jealous."  
  
The sound of running feet was heard, although almost as quiet as a whisper due to the noise.  
  
"I AM NOT JEALOUS!!!!"  
  
"Sure Syaoran…"  
  
"We believe you…"  
  
"Grrrr…."  
  
The sound of a door opening, then closing was heard. They had obviously entered the library.  
  
"Such power for a girl… Well, I hope you're ready… It's coming…"  
  
Eriol chuckled softly, the faintest wisp of a smile blowing over his lips.  
  
***  
  
The trees seemed like ghost, swaying and dancing to the song of the wind. Light droplets of rain descended from above, to silently splash at different roofs. And still the moon was like a priceless coin, framed with clouds by its collector, and hung on a starry wall.   
  
Sakura gazed out her window at it. She had a feeling that something would happen this night; something out of the ordinary. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it wasn't going to be good. Kero had told her to sleep, that there was nothing to worry about. But she thought otherwise.  
  
She continued to look out for a few minutes, then started to think. Maybe there isn't anything wrong… Maybe nothing bad is gonna happen tonight… Maybe I'm just being silly, and the feeling I have is just nonsense…  
  
Just as she decided to go to bed, an explosion of blue light in the distance caught her eye. She stared numbly at it, then dashed to get her key and dress up to check what it was. Before she could call Kero to tell him what she saw, however, she heard a voice. The same voice that had woke her up that morning…  
  
"Each day, everybody drowns...  
Their spirit in happiness...  
Willing themselves to forget the unforgotten...  
But when night wakes...  
Dreams of their past return...  
To haunt them...  
Always coming...  
Never going..."  
  
She once again scanned the room, to see if there was an intruder…  
  
Nobody.  
  
A bit frightened, she called out Kero's name.  
  
"W-what…? I'm sleeping" Came the drowsy reply.  
  
Sakura sighed in relief, then relayed what had happened to the guardian beast. He immediately snapped wide-awake, then instructed her that they were to check it out. But before that, they would pass by Syaoran's home to get some help, just in case…  
  
***  
  
A black silhouette stood on the edge of a sturdy tree branch. His eyes were glinting with the reflection of the burst of blue energy before him. He surveyed the woods around him, then smirked.  
  
"They are coming…"  
  
He slowly melted into the shadows about him, invisible to every seeing eye.  
  
***  
  
The Fly maneuvered in and out the cleared niches and gaps in the vast forest. On it were Sakura and Syaoran, with Kero clinging to one of them. It swept around, following the distant patches of blue light seen between the branches and leaves of acres of trees.  
  
As it grew nearer, the glow grew stronger and stronger, until it almost blinded. Also, the energy level rose higher and higher signifying that something inhumanly powerful was there.  
  
SWISH! SWOOSH! They were almost there… And with a flurry of leaves and a burst of speed, they flew into the clearing at breakneck speed.   
  
Then suddenly, the Fly came to a halt, throwing its passengers off and sending them flying forward into the massive blue column. It looked like it had hit something solid, but they had no idea what it was.   
  
But they would soon find out.  
  
Syaoran, Sakura, and Kero hit something hard, then waves of orange light crashed into them, sending them to the ground, then burning them with immense pain.   
  
Everything started to dim, until nothing could be made out anymore.  



	3. Yellow Rays

Ok,   
Starlight, starbright,  
These characters, I don't own, right?  
But I wish I may,   
I wish I might,  
Borrow them for my fics tonight.  
~Shin-chan (NOBODY STEAL THIS! IT'S *MINE*!!!)  
  
Okies, it took me a long time to do this because I was flanked with homework and was brainwashed with Animaniacs. I beg for forgiveness.  
  
^_^ Read and Review, people!!  
  
Feel free to criticize any wrong gramar and speeling. ^_^ eheheh...  
  
  
CHAPTER 2- Where Are The Sun's Yellow Rays?  
  
Sakura woke up, still tender with what she had experienced. She found it hard to open her eyes, but managed anyway. Studying the room, she gasped. She could have sworn that she had fallen in the clearing last night! But, here she was, lying on her bed, tucked beneath a cozy blanket. Looking over, she spotted Kero, asleep/unconscious on her desk. Syaoran was nowhere in sight.  
  
Trying to sit up, she moaned. A searing ache had zipped up her spine, making her regret what she had done. Easing herself back, she glanced at her bedside clock, and closed her eyes. 4:30 AM. Too early for contemplation. She needed rest. A lot of it.  
  
She would worry about things-to-be-worried-about later.  
  
***  
  
She was walking… following the sound of footsteps echoing around a dark hallway. An eerie silence was staring to form, as the noise faded.   
  
The floor she was standing on began to tremble, as a pale yellow beam emerged from it. It suddenly shot straight up with incredible force, its peak disappearing from sight in seconds.  
  
Then soft words started to float around her, gradually making themselves heard.  
  
"All have suffered...  
Have sacrificed what is theirs...  
To keep alive a dwindling hope...  
A hope that stayed a hope...  
A hope that never became...  
The reality they wished it to be..."  
  
***  
  
Sakura's eyes shot open. She heard the voice again.   
  
What was it?  
What was happening?   
  
She kept asking herself those questions… over and over…   
  
Can't you feel ANYTHING, Sakura?!   
  
She couldn't. Except for what happened last night. If it really did happen… She couldn't tell.  
  
Kero was still asleep, and Sakura didn't want to wake him, but her curiosity got the better of her. She knew that Kero had an idea to what was happening. It showed in the way he reacted to the incident the night before. If he really did react…  
  
She stood carefully, so as not to hurt herself, but as she did so, it seemed like the pain was never there to begin with. She bent down. No pain. She stretched. Not even a sting. Strange…  
  
"Kero… Kero? Wake up…"  
  
"Huh… wha?"  
  
"Ohayo! Its me, Sakura."  
  
He blinked at her with groggy eyes, "Oh…"  
  
"I wanted to ask you about that blue light thing"  
  
"Uh-huh…"  
  
"Hello…?"  
  
"Mmmm…"  
  
"OI!!!!!"  
  
Kero's eyes snapped wide open, "Oh yeah!! Hey… What… Where? Aren't we supposed to be in that place from yesterday?"  
  
"Umm… Yes…"  
  
"How…?"  
  
"I don't know, but as I was saying… Was is it about that light?"  
  
"Oh yes… Well… ummm…"  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Y'see there's supposed to be this thing called The Cessation or The Ending—whatever you want to call it. Anyway, it's supposed to happen at some point of the duration of the earth's time."  
  
"And what's it supposed to be?"  
  
"The end of the world."  
  
Blink. Blink.  
  
"And?"  
  
"It starts with five beams of energy projected from five points throughout Japan."  
  
"Why Japan?"  
  
"I don't know, but there's supposed to be something about a mad/evil sorcerer who cast a spell upon the earth that this would one day happen."  
  
"Mad… Evil… Sorcerer?"  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"Ah… What happens next?"  
  
"There is a chosen person who, after all the beams have appeared, will conduct a ritual written on a scroll that came with the sorcerer's spell. If the ritual isn't performed, then the beams will disappear and will come back in PROBABLY a few thousand years."  
  
"So, WE'LL have to stop that person?"  
  
"Will anyone else?"  
  
"I guess not… But… how will we know who that person is?"  
  
"Beats me…"  
  
"This is gonna be tough…"  
  
"Yup."  
  
***  
  
Syaoran gazed up at the ceiling of his room. He had experienced that explosion. No doubt about it. The proof was the ache in his shoulder and the twinge in his ankle. He felt like he wouldn't be able to walk today. That was bad. He didn't want to look or even feel helpless.  
  
But that was not what he was troubled about. What he WAS concerned about was the fact that he was in his room. How HAD he gotten there? There was no way that anyone could have brought him home. There was nobody, except Kero and Sakura, around when he had passed out. But they couldn't have possible be the ones who had delivered him here. He saw, with his own eyes, that they too had been sedated.  
  
He lay on his bed for quite a while until his alarm clock yelled into his ear, telling him to get up for school. He sighed, then got up. The poor boy had to limp all the way to the bathroom.  
  
***  
  
Eriol smirked, seeing Syaoran hobble into the classroom. He quickly replaced it however with an apprehensive look.   
  
"Ano… Are you OK, Syaoran-kun?"   
  
The dark-haired boy didn't even wait for an answer to his question. He immediately stood up and walked towards the other. Then, taking the shorter boy's backpack, he slipped his arm around Li-chan's (CHAN, Ok?! CHAN!!!) waist.  
  
Syaoran blushed slightly. He was uneasy with Eriol, and was embarrassed by his predicament and their position, but he really needed the help. Lucky for him, there was nobody in the room besides them.  
  
((*HINT* *HINT*))  
  
***  
  
Sakura panted, tired from running so much. Sure, she loved P.E., but with all the magic and stuff she was dragged into, it was kinda tiring. And with that "Cessation" thing going around, it was getting worse. Fatigue had finally caught up with her energetic disposition and was gradually dissipating it.  
  
***  
  
Syaoran moved his hand up, grasping at the purple ledge-thing on the wall he was climbing. Next he grabbed the red one with his other hand, and then stabilized his right foot on a green one. He was about to do the same with his left foot, when it slipped. As it did so, his other foot began to lose traction. When he was about to fall, a 'helpful hand' happened to steady him by holding his B-U-tocks.   
  
=^-^= Eheheh… That's how a friend of mine says it…  
  
Li-chan turned his head, and Lo! And behold! Eriol's smiling face was right in front of him. He blushed a bright shade of crimson; first this morning, now it was afternoon… What was next to expect? A long day.  



	4. Wisps of Jade Dreams

Ok,   
Starlight, starbright,  
These characters, I don't own, right?  
But I wish I may,   
I wish I might,  
Borrow them for my fics tonight.  
~Shin-chan (NOBODY STEAL THIS! IT'S *MINE*!!!)  
  
^_^ Read and Review, people!!  
  
Feel free to criticize any wrong gramar and speeling. ^_^ eheheh...  
  
  
CHAPTER 3- Wisps of Jade Dreams  
  
Sakura wheezed, breathing in short, strangled gasps. Her club had kept her from going home early, and she was straining her efforts to get back as fast as possible. After all, she had to make dinner for her father. Oh, and for Touya.  
  
Left, right, left, right. Her movements gained a rhythm as landscapes whizzed past her in a hazy blur.  
  
Left, right, left right. Her bag swayed in the air behind her.  
  
Left, right, left, ri— She jerked abruptly, losing her balance. A skate had caught on an invisible obstacle, sending her sprawling on asphalt. She winced, her skull connecting with the ground, giving her a sudden headache.  
  
She blinked rapidly, as a red miasma began engulfing her vision. It clouded her sight more and more and more… Until all she could see was crimson.  
  
And then a grayish fog crawled over the scarlet one. Slowly, slowly, before morphing into the darkest of blacks.  
  
Then all she could see was shadow.  
  
***  
  
A robed form was outlined by orange beams of sunlight. Cloth was flying in the gentle breeze that whispered through shrubbery. Fingers were pressed to sinister lips, as a singsong voice wafted with the gusts of wind.  
  
"Nearer and nearer…"  
  
***  
  
Green. Bright green. All she could see were the faint illuminations of emerald radiance pulsing from an elevated pillar. Another one of them. But this was different. There was something else this time, besides the beam and the words that were inevitably going to follow. There was a soft whirring— or rather, humming. It was periodic, and almost musical.  
  
The stanza came, matching the steady measure. It seemed to flow about her, drifting near her, brushing her, inside her. The words were almost tangible, as if she could reach out and grasp them with her bare hands…  
  
"And they wait...  
Forcing down their sorrows...  
Just to have at least one thing...  
That they could believe in...  
Yet, still nothing happens...  
All remains the same...  
As it was...  
Past...  
Present...  
Wanting the future...  
To be different..."  
  
***  
  
Syaoran shuddered, wrapped in a blanket. He was holding a warm cup of chocolate, blowing and sipping as he stared out a window. Spring as it was, he felt unusually cold. Like was gradually freezing over. He felt a weird throbbing in him, almost as if something was controlling his heart's pumping, his lungs' contracting.  
  
He inhaled the scent of his drink, savouring the sweet sensation. He took another gulp of the mildly hot liquid. And another. Then he began to gaze into its swirling depths.  
  
Its hypnotizing spin… Steadily twirling into place… Forming a vague portrait…  
  
Syaoran gasped, eyes fixed on the beverage.  
  
"…Eriol?"  
  
***  
  
Sakura awoke, eyes fluttering open and trying to take in her surroundings. She was lying on the porch of her own house, head cradled by a bouquet of flowers. She tried to lift her hands, but they were heavy as lead. She tried to shift her legs, but they wouldn't budge. Completely motionless. No matter what she did, somehow it was like she was plastered to the floor with concrete.  
  
She inhaled deeply, then struggled to talk. Her tongue was numb, and there was a frosty tinge in her body. She tried harder, and succeeded in getting a few muffled words out.  
  
"Help… Someone?"  
  
No one came. She was still alone. Perhaps Touya was inside? Or maybe her father? She attempted to call out again, louder this time.  
  
" 'Niichan? 'Tousan?"  
  
And there was no sign of either of them being present. Or anyone else for that matter.  
  
She was resigned to wait, leaning on the flower arrangement, her eyelids closing.  
  
***  
  
Tomoyo walked hurriedly through different roads, taking detours everywhere she could. It was already dark and the only lights around were from the streetlamps looming overhead. She carefully avoided alleys as she made her way to the Kinomoto residence.  
  
Earlier, she had found Sakura's books lying chaotically on the sidewalk while going home from choir practice. Her best friend's schoolbag was also nearby, sporting a gash in the pink material. It looked as if it had caught on… something… sharp and was ripped apart.  
  
Now she was rushing to the card mistress's house, after gathering items she had come across, worried that something horrible may have happened to her precious companion.  
  
***  
  
Her eyes were open, green orbs staring out towards nothing in particular. Sakura had fallen asleep for about five minutes, before suddenly jolting awake.  
  
She clenched her fists, once again making an effort to move. She *saw* one of them stir from the corner of her eye, but she didn't *feel* it. She raised her knees up and off the floor. They were right there before her eyes, and yet, it was as if they weren't there at all.  
  
They seemed detached from her body.  
  
In fact, *everything* seemed detached from her body. It was like she was in a void. A void with a peephole so that she could see what was going on around her. It was as if her body was a prison, and her soul was locked inside, robbed of the ability to sense.  
  
She was trapped in a dark cave with no one but herself. She suddenly felt incredibly lonely.  
  
Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
Fighting back the abrupt urge to cry, she strained her ears. She thought she had heard something.  
  
Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
There it was again! Someone was coming!  
  
She desperately strived to twist her head towards the direction where the sound was coming from. She was able to get a glimpse of whoever it was, before her cranium turned mechanically back to its previous position.  
  
Touya!  
  
***  
  
Tomoyo was now running, anxiety building up in her with each step she took. The same kept ringing in her head, her ears.  
  
Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…  
  
She urged herself to go faster. She had a bad feeling about the incident, and it grew stronger when rain began to pour. She forced herself to just jog, mindful of the fact she might lose her balance on the wet lane. But even though, she was still going fairly quickly, and in no time she had skidded and fallen on the slippery ground.  
  
She pushed to get up, the books and bag, now damp with precipitation, tucked under one arm. She continued to sprint.  
  
Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…  
  
And then the Kinomoto household was directly in front of her.  
  
She raced up the familiar driveway, steps, door… And it suddenly opened. Touya was standing there, looking at her with a knowing expression.  
  
He knew exactly why she was there.  
  
***  
  
Sakura was sitting up in bed. She held a cup of tea in both hands, and was letting the rising vapors warm her face. When her brother had found her, bit-by-bit the heat was already returning to her body. She had told Kero about what happened, and he informed her that it was probably part of the Cessation too. He said something about something 'wanting' her. She had no idea what it meant, but then again, she had no desire to find out at all.  
  
The bouquet she had been resting on earlier happened to be a dozen roses. A dozen *white* roses that were already browning. They were currently parked at the foot of her bed, untouched for the past few minutes.  
  
Tentatively, Sakura reached out to it, spotting a card stuffed between a few leaves.  
  
But before she could lay a hand on it, Tomoyo unexpectedly burst through the door, thoroughly drenched, with a towel draped across her shoulders.  
  
"Sakura-chan! Are you OK!?"  
  
"I should be asking you that!" she chuckled, "You're soaking wet!"  
  
Tomoyo smiled and was about to comment, when she spotted the roses, "Who are those from?"  
  
"I don't know, but there's a card. Maybe it says there."  
  
Tomoyo scooped the bundle into her arms and sat on the edge of Sakura's bed. Her delicate fingers fished the card out and removed it from the envelope. She read the contents out loud.  
  
"The roses wilt, and so shall the earth…" 


End file.
